Korean Government Officials De Facto Banned from Holding and Trading Crypto

[Cordillerabit]

The South Korean government has reportedly de facto banned all government officials from holding and trading cryptocurrencies. Even if their crypto activities are not related to their jobs, public officials can still be subject to disciplinary actions.

South Korea has reportedly “issued a ban on virtual currency holdings and transactions to all government officials,” Maeil Business Newspaper reported.

According to the document entitled “Virtual currency holdings and transaction-related information for civil servants,” the publication elaborated:

The personnel department requested that they [civil servants] refrain from holding and trading virtual currency even if there is no job relevance…This is the first time the government has formulated a virtual currency ban for all public officials.

The publication quoted the personnel affairs department explaining that if employees trade digital currencies for their personal benefit, they “are in violation of the prohibition of forbearance obligations under the civil servants’ law,” especially if trading is done during work hours. “Even if there is no job relevance,” the officials “could be subject to discipline,” the news outlet conveyed and quoted a high-ranking official explaining:

The disciplinary issue is not a quantitative cut, but a problem of interpretation of the law. Each ministry should judge the possibility of discipline.

Source